In the long-awaited testimony, Snowden said he had raised his concerns about bulk surveillance to “more than ten distinct officials, none of whom took any action to address them,” before he approached journalists. He also insisted he had no relationship with either the Russian or Chinese governments, but confirmed he had been approached by the secret service in Russia, where he has temporary asylum.

“Even the secret service of Andorra would have approached me, if they had had the chance: that’s their job,” Snowden wrote. “But I didn’t take any documents with me from Hong Kong, and while I’m sure they were disappointed, it doesn’t take long for an intelligence service to realize when they’re out of luck...”